Author
Topic: Bankrupt and Bankrupt Again... (Read 1470 times)

Scythe

So I'm playing the demo world to see if I can get the hang of this game before paying for a game I am just not good at. Clearly it is a good thing I tested it out first because for some reason I can't make this thing work.

On my first attempt, I leased 2 used puddle jumpers and 3 737's (all different types).....bankrupt. Fast.

Now, on my second attempt, after reading and researching, I have only leased one plane and it is a 737-300. My HQ is STL and only one other player is based out of there. My plane runs 3 routes a day to very busy airports (ATL, LAX, ORD). But this is where I am confused: I can't load the planes. I'm just over a month into the game and have been marketing multiple campaigns at a time with all the types of marketing. I lowered the price on all tickets by about 40% progressively as I couldn't fill the planes. And this is where I am as far as loads:

Route 1 (1AM-6AM)

To ATL: 29%Return: 50%

Route 2 (8AM-3PM)

To LAX: 77%Return: 76%

Route 3 (5PM-11PM)

To ORD: 73%Return: 71%

Now it's been that way since about Week 2 of my playing. Now, 3 months later, after lowering prices drastically, it hasn't changed. I've marketed up the yahoo over here, and although I am making slim profits at the end of the week, I can't fill the planes no matter how much I lower the price. The competition is also confusing. I have no competition on the ATL flights, LOTS of competition on the LAX flights, and minimal competition on the ORD flights. But the LF%s don't reflect that.

What have I done wrong and what am I doing wrong? Should I just give up?

* 1 plane is not enough, you need a fleet of 3-5 before you can cover the regular fixed expenses.

* Your schedule of that single plane is quite loose. Long breaks in home base between flights .. can be shorter. Also routes in the middle of the night are no moneymakers, so that 01am sector to ATL is losing money from the company.

* In full version you can change the seat configs of the planes, and for shorthaul jets it could work out to use HighDensity seating, and/or add some Business Class (C) seats as they bring in more money. In demo you are limited to the "default" config, which should work out as well but limits your choices.

* And since you are a new company, your routes are not yet known ( http://www.airwaysim.com/game/Office/Routeimage ) - it takes months. Before that you can only expect low sales, or have to reduce prices drastically. Due to this perhaps better to stick certain high-density & high-yield route-pairs instead of flying allover the place.

(but since you got cash there, get some more cheap 737s and pack them to fly some 500-800nm sectors)

Scythe

But from what I've read, while planes are on the ground, the company is losing money. So I tried to fly this one just about 24/7 and at least keep it wheels-up. So you suggest starting my flights for the day at like 5AM? And run them until midnight?

I'll pick up a couple more 737-300s for fleet commonality, and fill those up with routes I guess. So what hours are profitable to have routes? I even turned my CEO share of the money down to 0 per month seeing as I'm not competing in the Demo World.

What else can I do to get this ball rolling? 25,000 a month in the green is not worth it...

Zabuti

I believe you're on the right path here. You have good ideas (fleet commonality is a key factor in reducing costs).

Now, there's a couple of things to make clear for you :

-Try to avoid have landings/take-offs between midnight and 5AM. Usually, this is a dead spot. I have most of my planes taking off between 5 and 5.15, and they have arounf 90% LF. This is just the dead period.

Later in the game, you'll get that your planes can be in the air during this period, it will not be an issue. (e.g, for a 6h flight, you can take-off at 2355 and land at 0555.)

- decreasing and decreasing your prices are not good either. The ideal way to start is to take a route w/ no competition if you can, and have prices 20% lower than suggested. When your route image exceeds 60, raise the prices a bit.

- Flying a route means having fixed costs, such as marketing campaign. If you fly the same route twice, your fixed cost will benefit two routes instead of one, and then you'll get more money out of it.

- Finally, don't overwhelm a route with offer. if the estimated pax on the route is 100, do not exceed 150 seats offered, as it would not be worth it.

I basically suggest short routes to start (such as <660 nm), so that you can fly several times a day.

Hope this helps

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pattN

do not spend to much for marketing if you donīt have big competition in your place, you donīt have to set up route specific marketing if noone else flies that route. rsm only speeds up you RI. if you are in competition itīs almost all about Company Image CI which is boostet by General Campaigns.

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takasito

1: Fly to destinations, avoid competition - over supplying makes less profitable.2: If you can avoid the point number 1 mentioned above, your routes need no aggressive discount.3: Fly to destinations more frequently than opting too many destinations - this will save staff cost.

Additional: if you plan to open any long-haul routes, make sure you fly to the destinations at least 6 times a week.